Crimson Darkness
by Big Red Machine
Summary: Shortly after the 2nd Dead or Alive tournament, a Predator arrives on Earth and with the help of a DOA fighter, starts to hunt the DOA fighters. Can our heros and heroines, along with a Special Forces soldier and FBI agent, overcome this menace and survi


Some quick blurbs:  
  
DOA is registered to Tecmo.  
Predator is registered to 20th Century Fox.  
  
And now, I give to you...  
  
CRIMSON DARKNESS  
(A DOA/Predator crossover)  
By Big Red Machine  
  
  
"What am I gonna do now?"  
  
Ayane thought to herself as she stood waist deep in a river. She thought it would help her beat the oppressive heat that started just after the end of the second Dead or Alive tournament, but it did little. This was yet another of the dark ninja's personal failures. She couldn't acquire Tengu's power, failed to kill her half-sister Kasumi, and now this. She didn't know what to do or where to go. She knew she couldn't return to her village for certain death awaited her there.   
  
As Ayane walked down the river while remaining in the water, her thoughts still hell-bent on revenge towards Kasumi, Hayabusa, the man who killed Tengu, and everyone else in the tournament, she saw an object fall from the sky and land in the river not too far from her. "What the...?" She climbed out of the water to avoid being swept away by the wave that followed the impact. As Ayane walked along the shoreline, she saw a large object partly submerged in the water; about one-third sunken was Ayane's best guess. She moved to what she thought could be the front of the object and saw that it was partly open.  
  
"Could that have been a door or something? Then that means..." Ayane looked around nervously waiting for someone foolish enough to make the first move. Getting into her fighting stance, she patrolled the area by eye when she heard something in the trees. Even in the night sky, which has strangely become a bit darker in the nights following the tournament, she could make out some sort of humanoid object on a tree branch. It appeared to be looking at her. Suddenly, the figure jumped up and before Ayane could react, it had landed only a few steps away. In a panic, she threw a punch at it only to have it be grabbed by the translucent figure, which towered over her. The seven to eight foot tall being started to squeeze her hand causing her so great of pain that she was forced to fall to her knees. "Damn," she thought. "Whatever this thing is, it's stronger than anybody I've ever fought before."   
  
The figure let her hand go, allowing its victim to clutch her possibly broken hand. That chance would only last a few seconds as Ayane could feel the shape grab her neck and lift her off the ground. In all her life as a ninja, this was the first time Ayane felt true terror and fear. With all of her heart, she believed she was going to die here. "I can't die now," she thought still under the shadow's mercy.   
  
"Please," she croaked through what little air she could still breathe, "don't.... kill me...."  
  
Sparks of electricity surrounded the figure revealing its true form. Its true form was a mountain of yellowish-green muscle with dark spots and what looked like a wire mesh surrounding its body. Its wrists were covered with strange garments, the one on its right wrist, the one not choking Ayane, revealed two blades protruding from it. Its shoulders, knees, and lower legs were covered in some sort of armor. The "hair" was braided like a stereotypical Jamaican and it was wearing a helmet over its face and a cannon mounted over the left shoulder. On its belt was a disk shaped object and a spear of sorts.  
  
"Could it be? Are the legends true? Is this the fabled 'Devil From the Heavens'? If it is, then maybe I can..." In a last ditch effort, Ayane pleaded with the creature. "Look, I can help you. I know of others, others you can hunt down."  
  
The creature let go of Ayane's neck allowing her to fall to the ground and gasp for air. Could this one be telling the truth? Is there more Prey to be had here? If this one were not lying, then this trip would be well worth it. If the human were, well, at least there'd be one trophy to be had. The wrist blades contracted and the hunter kneeled down in front of Ayane.  
  
  
  
"It can talk, sort of," Ayane thought to herself. "It sounds like snippets of people cut up and patched together." "Yeah," she replied. "I know lots of others you can hunt down. If you'll let me live, I can bring them here for you."  
  
The hunter stood up and held its fist against its heart pointing to its right afterwards. This was a risk for sure, but the human sounded serious. Chances are that this one was telling the truth. Ayane got up and started to run motioning for the creature to follow her. To her amazement, she found that it did not have a problem following and rather closely at that.  
  
"Don't worry, they'll come," Ayane shouted to her new "friend". "We just have to patient, that's all."  
  
  
A FEW DAYS LATER  
  
Five machine gun armed soldiers cautiously walked up to the craft and went inside. Whether it was out of curiosity or plain stupidity, even the soldiers didn't know. Inside, they saw technology behind anything they could have imagined.  
  
"Amazing," one soldier commented. "Look at all of this. Do you have any idea how long it would take for us to figure all of this out?"  
"That's enough, you," another soldier, presumably the commanding officer shouted. "Let's let the boss know about this." The officer pushed a button on the headset he was wearing. "Commander, we found what the object we were tracking was. It appears to be some sort of...spaceship. There's a lot of s**t here that I'm sure..."  
  
A sudden jolt caused the soldiers to fall to the ground followed by the rising of the water. No order had to be given; each one of them knew they had to get out of there fast. As the soldiers scrambled to the exit, sparks of electricity flew around them. Navigating through the obstacle course of sparks, the first of the soldiers was just about to leave the ship.  
  
The sound of the explosion quickly reached the makeshift base where Bayman and the remaining soldiers looked in the direction of the noise.  
  
"Did you hear that?" one of the soldiers asked anyone within shouting distance.  
  
"My mother in New York heard that," answered another.  
  
As this was going on, Bayman was on the communicator desperately trying to get through to the patrol unit in the vicinity. "Commander, come in...I said come in, do you copy?" Static was the only answer to his calls. However, he was determined to keep trying. "Come in, do you read me? Answer me. Do you copy?"  
  
"It's no use trying, they're all dead. That's what happens when you trespass in other people's property."  
  
Bayman and the other soldiers looked up and saw a girl in a blue outfit sitting on a branch high up in a tree.  
  
"It's you," Bayman shouted. "What do you know about this?"  
  
Ayane cracked a smile at Bayman's question. "I know that your boys are dead. I also know my friend was the one who killed them. I'm so glad you're here-Bayman, isn't it? I was just telling him about you and how you'd make good prey."  
  
"What do you mean your 'friend' and what do you mean by 'prey'?"  
  
"You'll find out...or rather, your soldier boys will."  
  
So this was one of those 'others' the human in the tree was talking about. But what about those humans around the prey? They didn't look they'd be worth the hunt, but chances are they'll try to protect the one called "Bayman". The cloaked hunter fired the net nabbing one of the soldiers and pinning him against another tree, the wire piercing his flesh. As that soldier screamed in agony, the other soldiers started firing in all directions.  
  
"What the hell's going on here?" That was all Bayman could think as one by one, all of his remaining soldiers fell to the unseen nemesis. All the Russian could do is watch as one soldier was hit in the chest with a blast of light. As the surviving soldiers continued to fire, they could not see the shape sneaking up on one of them and impaling him with the spear. As the remaining guns fired toward the direction of the scream, another soldier's head flew off his body with the body collapsing to the ground. The last soldier stopped firing and looked around, along with Bayman, in fear. It didn't last long for the last soldier felt a flaring pain in his abdomen and felt himself being lifted off the ground. After letting out a dying scream, he was dropped to ground. Now only the Russian remained to face Ayane's "friend".  
  
Higher up in another tree to avoid the gunfire, Ayane laughed. The legends of her people were true. The "Devil From the Heavens" was indeed powerful. The dark ninja leapt carefully down to the ground to face Bayman and have a front-row seat to his death.  
  
"Now you see what I mean. My friend is, as you say, 'all that.' But I'm in a good mood today. I think you should be honored to see who killed your boys and what will kill you as well."  
  
Bayman turned around to see the murderer of his soldiers materialize in front of him. "What in the hell is that?" he thought to himself. The creature got into a fighting stance and taunted the ex-KGB agent to try his luck. Almost out of instinct, Bayman got into his stance and the two sidestepped to their left.  
  
"This oughta be good," Ayane thought as she watched the two in preparation. Bayman charged toward the hunter and shoulder rammed him into a tree and continuously shoulder charged him. As Bayman began another shoulder charge, the hunter punched Bayman in the stomach, hard enough to have the Russian coughing up blood. As Bayman reeled from the blow, the predator grabbed the Russian and gave him perhaps the most painful suplex he ever received. The hunter got up, picked up Bayman by the neck once more, and choke slammed him to the ground. With a mouth full of blood and his body wracked in pain, all Bayman could do is look at his victorious opponent. The hunter still had a hand wrapped around the Russian's neck with the other hand in a fist in the air with the wrist blades extracted from the wrist decoration.  
  
Ayane, laughing at what was in front of her, walked toward the downed Russian and dropped to one knee. "I want you to look," she said, "at what awaits you and everyone else who got in my way."  
  
"Wh...What do...you...mean...got in...your...way?" The predator let out its trademark snarl causing Bayman to turn to it and watch as it quickly lowered the wrist blades.  
  
  
SOME TIME LATER-SEATTLE, WASHINGTON  
  
In the midst of the police cars in front of the DOATEC building, a convertible pulled up into the impromptu parking space. A young man of average build, short brown hair and eyes, wearing a suit got out of the car and looked into the sky. Although there was no humidity in the air, a haze could be seen overhead. In fact, this haze has been in the sky for several days now, not just here in Seattle, but all over the world and it's become a messed up place since it appeared. The man walked up to entrance and was greeted by two police officers.  
  
"This is a restricted area," one officer said. The suited man pulled out his badge, showed it to the officers, and said only one word, "FBI." The officers, wondering why the FBI would be here, allowed the man to pass. Inside the lobby, the FBI agent could see many officers, some were walking around, others were questioning civilians, but one in particular was standing around looking at everything in sight. "Judging from those stripes," the man thought, "he must in charge here." The FBI agent went up to the officer and got the officer's attention.   
  
"Sergeant," then man replied. The officer looked in his direction and saw the badge that the agent had flashed in front of him. "I'm Agent Randall, FBI. What happened here?"  
  
"From what we know, some guys walked in, went over there," the sergeant replied pointing to a hallway, "and just started firing."  
  
"What did these guys look like?"  
  
"From what we could gather, they were dressed in black suits. They didn't look any different from you or I."  
  
"Hmm. I'm going to take a look. I'll leave the detective stuff up to you guys."  
  
As Agent Randall walked to the hallway, the officer shouted to him, "Wait a sec! What do you FBI boys want here?"  
  
"It's none of your business. You just do your job and I'll do mine." The FBI agent entered the hallway and noticed two officers guarding a door about halfway down it. Agent Randall approached the officers and noticed the police tape that sealed the door. Obviously, something big happened here and Agent Randall was determined to find out what.  
  
"Agent Randall, FBI. What happened here?"  
  
"Some old guy got whacked in this room here."  
  
"How? And what about these mystery men in black?"  
  
"The guy was shot. As for these 'men in black', they just disappeared. There's no sign of them."  
  
"If you boys don't mind, I'm going to check it out myself. Keep up the good work here, guys." Agent Randall stepped over the tape and entered the room and was met with a sight he wasn't expecting. On the floor near the other side was a body lying in a pool of blood. As he headed toward the body, he saw small objects surrounding the body, which he recognized instantly.   
  
"Bullet casings. It's nice to know the cops around here can figure something out on their own," the agent thought to himself as he pulled out a pair of rubber gloves from his suit pocket. Agent Randall kneeled down to examine the body, the body of a man in his sixties most likely, with a frozen look of shock on his face. Obviously, this guy wasn't expecting to die today. Then again, nobody expects to die.  
  
The agent searched the victim's lab coat pockets and found only an ID card. "Leo Brahms..." Behind the victim was some sort of terminal. Agent Randall walked up to it and pressed a few keys at random. He must have done something right for the monitor was flashing:  
  
"IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED"  
  
Agent Randall took the ID card and swiped it through the slot below the monitor.   
  
"IDENTIFICATION COMFIRMED. WELCOME DOCTOR BRAHMS"  
  
"Well, I'll be a son of a b***h," Agent Randall thought to himself as the next screen appeared.  
  
"MAIN MENU  
  
PROJECT EPSILON  
SUPERHUMAN DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (SDP)  
SUBJECT: HAYATE **CLASSIFIED**  
SUBJECT: KASUMI **CLASSIFIED**"  
  
"Since I seem to be on some sort of lucky streak..." Randall thought to himself as he highlighted "Project Epsilon".  
  
"PROJECT EPSILON:  
  
Project Epsilon is the codename for a top-secret experiment involving the cloning of a perfect human being. For this experiment, we chose a man by the name of Hayate (see "Subject: Hayate") to be cloned.   
  
Capturing Hayate proved to be most difficult. He somehow found ways to elude us. Nevertheless, we continued to pursue him until one night when we were able to capture him. Once captured, we sedated him and took him to our lab in the U.S. (We chose America for none of our other labs had the equipment to perform such a feat)"  
"This is the goddamn jackpot," Agent Randall muttered. The entry continued:  
  
"The project preceded normal at first. Suddenly, the cloned cells began to develop strange mutations, the likes of which we never expected. What was supposed to be a human being turned out to be nothing more than a mess of mutant cells unfit for study. We immediately destroyed the cells and dropped Hayate off somewhere in Germany.   
  
Some time later, we learned of another being similar to Hayate. In fact, this being was the sister of Hayate and genetically superior to him in every way. The girl, Kasumi (see "Subject: Kasumi), was found at the first Dead of Alive tournament-Fame Douglas can actually do something right for once."  
  
Agent Randall was awestruck at this. This was it, the final pieces of the puzzle. At last, he had the evidence he needed. Since he wanted to learn more, he highlighted "Superhuman Development Project (SDP)"  
  
"SUPERHUMAN DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (SDP):  
  
"The SDP is the name for the new name for the failed Project Epsilon. The subject for this experiment was a young girl named Kasumi we found in the Dead or Alive tournament. Her capture proved to be easier than Hayate's. We were able to capture her in her sleep and transported her to same lab the previous attempt occurred.  
  
When the experiment was underway, all was normal. The cloned cells grew at the rate we had expected. This time, we learned from our mistakes and we watched in awe as the cloned girl developed on schedule."  
  
"They did it," Randall thought. "These sons of b***hes did it. They made a f*****g clone!" The entry continued:  
  
"When our clone, which we named 'Kasumi A', awoke, we celebrated with great fervor. However, we knew we had to get rid of the original Kasumi. Thus, we decided to leave her back in her home country of Japan. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse. A short time later, Kasumi A had escaped. Fearing a government backlash, we frantically searched for her only to find her dead in an abandoned factory. We're not sure how she died, but we have reason to believe the real Kasumi was somehow responsible for this.  
  
We have just received word that someone among us has notified the authorities about our experiments. It will only be a matter of time before the FBI or CIA comes snooping around our doors. We don't know who informed them, but we will send some of our assassins to dispose of this traitor once he or she is exposed."  
  
As Agent Randall went to highlight the next entry, he heard gunfire from the hallway. He turned around to see the two officers guarding the door falling to the ground in a hailstorm of bullets. He pulled out his handgun and walked cautiously towards the door. He only got a few steps forward when two men wearing black suits and sunglasses walked in. Both men were armed with semi-auto rifles.  
  
"So," one of them said, "you're the agent man, eh?"  
  
"Donovan knew you'd come sooner or later," the other man replied.   
  
"Who are you guys and who is this 'Donovan'?" Agent Randall questioned the men.  
  
"We're the ones that made sure Brahms there didn't spill any more beans. You see, Brahms decided to have a change of heart at a very bad time. Donovan didn't take that news too well I'm afraid."  
  
"So he sent you guys to kill him. It makes sense to me." Randall shrugged his shoulders.  
  
"If what you said is true, then you must also know we have to kill you as well. Nothing personal, agent, just business, that's all."  
  
Randall smiled and to the gunmen's surprise, dropped his gun and took a fighting stance. "Why shoot me? Shooting people's getting kind of old, don't you think? How about we duke it out? This should be a cakewalk for you, shouldn't it? Or are you afraid I'd kick your asses?"  
  
The gunmen weren't sure what was going on, but they decided to take the agent on his offer. They dropped their guns and took fighting stances. The first man charged toward the agent, but the agent sidestepped at the last minute. Seizing the opportunity, the agent ran towards the charger and delivered a running punch to the face. The man in black got up from the blow and saw Agent Randall in his fighting stance. The man in black went to deliver a hook punch, but missed. The agent, upon the miss, delivered a kick to the stomach, another to the head, and finished with a jumping roundhouse kick causing the man in black to fall to the ground unconscious. Agent Randall faced the other man and motioned for him to come forward.   
  
Instead, the second man smiled. "I see. You know martial arts, do you? That's why you wanted to fight hand-to-hand. But, I'm afraid I'm going to have to take a pass on that and stick with the traditional blowing-your-brains-out method." The man produced a handgun from his jacket and aimed for the agent when he heard in a heavy Southern accent, "Ya know, you should watch where you point that."  
  
The man turned around and was hit by three techniques causing him to fall to the ground. Agent Randall looked at the person, a woman with long dark hair and a physique that was slightly but noticeably above average for a woman, and recognized her immediately.  
  
"Sarah? Sarah Hackett? What are you doing here?"  
  
"I'm here for you, Steve. I need your help to find Bayman."  
  
"Bayman? What is it?"  
  
"He disappeared a while ago and I've been sent to find him."  
  
"So why come to me? Did you forget I'm not with the Special Forces anymore?"  
  
"No, I didn't. I came here because you're the only one I want for this mission."  
  
"Why me?"  
  
"I can't tell you now. Right now, I want to know if you'll come along. I'll make it worth your while. And besides, it'll be like old times."  
  
"What do you mean by 'make it worth your while'?"  
  
"I have all the information about DOATEC, about Donovan, about the cloning projects, and even about a project known only as 'Genra'. I have everything you need to shut them down for good and it's yours if you'll come with me."  
  
Now Steve was interested. He knew Sarah wouldn't lie about something like this. "It's unorthodox, but you got a deal. Where are we going?"  
  
"Southern Kyushu, Japan. But first, we're going to Okinawa, we got a base there as you know. We're going there first. That's where I'll tell you everything. Now let's get out of here before the rest of the cops show up."  
  
[The following is decoded information from certain agencies' files. Read at your own risk.]  
  
Name: Steve Randall  
Age: 26  
DOB: May 4, 1975-Minneapolis, Minnesota  
History: Raised in Minnesota and mastered Tae Kwon Do karate during school years...enlisted in Special Forces at age 18...encountered something in Central America three years ago and quit shortly thereafter...works as agent for FBI...investigating DOATEC activities involving cloning...  
  
Name: Sarah Hackett  
Age: 28  
DOB: June 17, 1973-Atlanta, Georgia  
History: Born into wealthy family...mastered Praying Mantis Kung Fu...enlisted in Special Forces at 18 and met up with Randall and Nicolai "Bayman" Putcheski...also involved with Central America incident but stayed with Special Forces...has knowledge of DOA tournament...  
[End transmission]  
  
  
As Kasumi ran through the forest at top speed, thoughts ran through her head. There have been no attempts on her life for days. Normally, that would be cause for celebration, but for some reason, she was concerned. Why would the assassins suddenly stop coming after her? She wasn't quite sure why, but she had to go check it out. Kasumi knew she was taking a big risk by returning home, but she was going to take that chance. After a few miles, which felt longer because of the heat, the runaway shinobi arrived at the place she once called home and was met with a sight she wasn't expecting-the reason why the assassination attempts ceased. The bodies of her once-allies were strewn everywhere. Some of them were chopped to pieces, others were hanging from the trees, some of those skinned but all of them with their heads removed from their bodies. With the heat and the smell surrounding her, the ninja just couldn't hold it anymore. She turned around, bent over, and vomited.  
  
"No," Kasumi thought covering her mouth. "How could this have happened? What could have done this to them? Could it have been a Tengu? No, this isn't their style. Could it be...?"  
  
"Kasumi!"  
  
Kasumi turned toward the voice and saw two men standing on a high branch, both of whom she recognized. "Hayabusa! Hayate!"  
  
The men jumped from their perch and headed toward the young lady ninja, but not before investigating the remains of their home first.  
  
"Do you think...?" Hayate asked.  
  
"Yes," Hayabusa answered. "It has to be. There is no one else." The two turned their attention toward Kasumi as if she was the one who killed them all. Hayabusa and Hayate approached her with caution. Of course, this didn't go unnoticed.  
  
"I didn't do it, you guys. I don't know who, but I think I have an idea."  
  
"Is it...one of them?" Hayabusa asked.  
  
"Yes, 'The Devil from the Heavens.' It has to be; this is exactly how it's described in the legend. People chopped up, heads removed, this is the devil's work."  
  
Are you saying one of them is here?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure of it." Kasumi gulped as Hayabusa's blade was within inches of her neck. "Hey...what gives?"  
  
"We'll take care of this. You do not belong here. Go, and may we not cross paths again."  
  
Kasumi turned to her brother in desperation. "Brother..."  
  
Hayate turned his back to her and said, "I don't know you."  
  
"Leave now," Hayabusa demanded. With a tear in her eye, Kasumi ran away knowing all too well she could never go back. When she was out of sight, Hayabusa and Hayate continued to investigate the site.   
  
"This is indeed a devil's work. But how did it know to come here?" Hayabusa wondered. He and Hayate pondered over it for a short time before Hayate came up with an answer.   
  
"Ayane..."  
  
"Ayane? That cannot be. It would have killed her on the spot."  
  
"Maybe, but she could have bargained with it or something. Perhaps she led it here."  
  
"But why?"  
  
"Revenge possibly. As you know, she was kicked out for trying to kill Kasumi...before Kasumi fled of course."  
  
"If that is so, then..."   
  
As Kasumi ran, tears filled her eyes. Why would they do this to her? Why would her brother and best friend turn on her like this? Suddenly, Kasumi stopped and looked around with one hand on the hilt of her sword. Something was amiss here but Kasumi couldn't figure out what. After finding nothing unusual, the ninja resumed her running unsure of where to go. Had she looked a bit more carefully, she may have noticed a figure following her...  
  
Somewhere else in the forest, Ayane was watching the sky. Anytime now, she would see what she had desired to see. She turned to her right and noticed her hunter friend was gone. "I see he's still checking this place out." Ayane came out of that thought to a sound most desirable to her. In the sky, a helicopter was arriving and it was nearing the clearing set up for it. Ayane cracked a smile-she knew her plan was working and it was only a matter of time now before she would get her revenge.  
  
Of course, Ayane alone did not notice the chopper. The predator saw it as well and decided to check it out. Perhaps this was it, the prey that human was talking about. For the human's sake, it had better be. Leaping through the trees with grace and agility that would put a ninja to shame, it followed the chopper.   
  
  
The helicopter landed in the clearing and upon landing, its crew stepped out one by one. High in the trees, Ayane gleamed at this sight. "Good, they're all here." Her thoughts changed when she saw three people she didn't recognize, one man with a jar around one arm, one woman with a gi on, and another woman wearing a tight silver and blue outfit. "Who are those three? No matter, they're just as good as the others are."   
  
Meanwhile, the participants of the DOA tournament-Chinese fighters Jann-Lee, Lei-Fang, and old master Gen-Fu, French opera star Helena, American wrestler Bass Armstrong, his daughter and wrestler-turned-model Tina, popular DJ Zack, the mysterious fighter Leon, and the new contestants Brad Wong, Christie, and Hitomi-were scoping out the scene as the helicopter lifted into the air and flew away.  
  
"Man," Zack shouted, "it's hotter than hell out here."  
  
"I agree," Helena added. "No one told me that it would be this hot out here. It's got to be pushing 100 degrees here."  
  
"We were told to follow this path," Tina shouted to anyone who cared to listen. "So let's stop griping about this heat and get moving." With that, the crew followed the path to where they were supposedly going to be. Along the way, Jann-Lee stopped and looked off in the distance. He had a feeling something was wrong; something was out of place here.   
  
"Jann!" Lei-Fang shouted. "What's wrong? What're you looking at?"  
  
She stared in Jann's direction, but couldn't figure out what he was seeing. What was it he was looking at anyway?  
  
"Jann! Answer me, what's going on?"  
  
"Nothing...it's nothing." Jann resumed his walking with Lei a few steps behind him still trying to figure out why he was acting like he did. However, she and the other reached their destination before she could answer her own question. It was a campsite with the necessary items required; especially water. Each member took a canteen-except for Brad-and a tent to rest in.  
  
Up above, Ayane and the hunter looked on. This was it; the hunt was at last going to be underway. The hunter wasn't quite sure though. Would these humans be worthy enough to hunt down? The predator turned to Ayane and unsheathed the wrist blades. Of course, Ayane knew what that meant. "Heh...don't worry, they're good prey for ya. Trust me on this, OK? I've got it all planned out." The hunter retracted the blades and looked toward the campsite.   
  
  
SOMEWHERE IN OKINAWA  
  
Several people were watching a helicopter landing on the launch pad and saw two people, a man in a suit and a woman in jeans and dress shirt, jump out of it and walk toward a jeep. The two people got in the jeep and it sped off toward a building.   
  
Inside the building, Steve and Sarah went into a small room containing only a table, some documents on it, a ceiling fan, and two sets of what looked like military garb.  
  
"So," Steve asked looking at the documents, "what's this all about? What's going on here?"  
  
"What's happening is that Bayman went off to investigate something in Japan and never returned. I've been asked to find him and find out what happened."  
  
"Uhm, if I'm not mistaking, Bayman was drummed out of the Forces. Why exactly do you want to find him?"  
  
"Because one of the soldiers that was with him was a spy for us. He kept us aware of what our old friend was doing. However, our spy reported seeing a massacred camp. When that report was made, I was called in to perform this mission."  
  
"Okay, and where do I come in?"  
  
"The camp our spy conveyed sounded similar to what we've seen before. That's why I asked for you. If it's what I think it is, we're the only ones who can stop it. We don't have much time." Sarah picked up the garb and handed one of them to Steve. "Put these on and let's get going."  
  
Steve checked out the garb and saw it was a pair of khaki shorts, a sleeveless shirt, and military boots. "Uh, Sarah, what's up with this?"  
  
"We're going into a forest, not a jungle. Besides, there's a major heart wave in that area. It's been about 100 degrees for days now. Now, put your stuff on and when you're done, we'll go get radios and weapons." Sarah walked into another room while Steve walked into a separate room. What exactly did she mean by "we're the only ones who can stop it"? What the hell was going on here?  
  
  
Hayabusa and Hayate ran through the forest with one thing on their minds-the desire to find the devil of legend and put a stop to it...if they can. During their trek, they ran into the campsite where the DOA fighters were located and knew something was not right here.  
  
"Why are they here," Hayabusa asked.  
  
"I do not know," Hayate answered, "but we should find out."  
  
"Indeed." The men walked into the camp where the other fighters greeted them. Without a doubt, they knew of one another even if they weren't all on friendly terms.  
  
"What is going on here? Why are you all here?" Hayabusa asked the others. He noticed the new contestants. "And who are you three?"  
  
"I'm Brad," one of them answered, "Brad Wong. The girl in the gi over there is Hitomi and the one off in the distance there is Christie. She's been kinda quiet since we got here. Not that I can blame her though, this heat is something else, ya know? That and the B.O. around here and whoa!"  
  
The super-ninja gave the man a funny look. "Anyway, could anybody please tell me why you're all here?"  
  
"We been invited to compete," answered Gen-Fu, the old master. "This is the third Dead or Alive tournament and it's being held here. There's a large cash prize for the winner."  
  
"Have you or anyone else here found it kind of odd to be holding it in a forest?"  
  
"I did," Bass butted in, "but after a while, I thought what the hell. This is supposed to be a secret, right? I mean, we don't want the world to know about it, right?"  
  
As Hayabusa explained what might really be going on here, Hayate noticed something that wasn't quite right. He knew during the last tournament, when he called himself Ein, that there were more people than this. "Excuse me," he shouted, "but weren't there more people than this last time?" Just to be sure, he checked again. Jann-Lee, Lei-Fang, Gen-Fu, Bass, Tina, and Helena, and the new people, Brad, Hitomi, and Christie-they were here.  
  
"Oh," Hitomi said to the curious Hayate, "Leon and Zack went off to fight. They were the first to compete."  
  
"Where did they go and how long ago did they leave?"  
  
"Quite a while ago, I guess. I'm not sure where they went though."  
  
The ninjas looked at each other in concern. Leon and Zack had no idea what kind of danger they were getting into. The two ninjas spilt up to search for them. Hopefully, it wasn't too late.  
  
Kasumi could only watch from a distance. Her suspicions were right, there was something going on here. How do the DOA fighters, the devil, and the beheadings tie in? The female ninja ran off to try to find answers those questions.  
  
"You don't learn, do you?"  
  
Zack paused at Leon's question. When they met in the last tournament, Leon talked to him like they've met before. But Zack never saw him in his life and tried to prove it to Leon only to be met with defeat. "Hey man, I still don't know who you are. Would you mind telling me who you are anyway?"  
  
Leon's axe kick was the answer to Zack's question, which the funky DJ nearly avoided. In retaliation, Zack threw a few kicks in of his own, which Leon was able to dodge. Throughout this fight, whenever one man would throw a technique or two, the other would dodge and try to counterattack only to miss. After a few minutes of this, Zack came up with an idea either out of desperation or stupidity. "Hey you, try to catch me!" With that, Zack ran off with Leon in hot pursuit. Because Zack was faster than Leon, he was able to lose the self-proclaimed "strongest man in the world" within maybe a minute or two. As soon as he figured he was safe, Zack rested against a tree. It wasn't so bad fighting, but fighting in the oppressive heat was just too much for him. Wiping sweat from his brow, he looked around for any sign of Leon. "Huh, I guess I lost him," he thought. "Man oh man! I don't remember being in this kind of heat, not even in the desert. What I wouldn't give for..." A strange noise interrupted Zack's train of thought causing him to look around. "Wh...who's there?" he shouted to no avail. The noise has heard again, this time it was louder and closer to him than before. Zack looked up in the tree he was resting against and saw the source. Someone, a big freak in a mask, was reaching for him and before Zack could even react, he was grabbed by the shirt and pulled him up into the tree.   
  
Ayane watched from another tree in amusement as Zack screamed and tried to free himself from whatever it is that had him. Two down and a third on the way, she thought. As soon as Zack stopped struggling, Leon could be seen in the distance. The dark ninja leapt down to the ground and waited for Leon's arrival.  
  
As Leon continued to run, he saw a girl in blue and stopped. This girl looked familiar to him, he did remember seeing a young girl like her in the last tournament. The girl was leaning against a tree and was staring at him with a smug look on her face. Just as Leon was about to speak, Ayane beat him to it. "You're wondering where your opponent is, aren't you?" Ayane laughed. "Don't worry, he's around. You just have to look harder, that's all."  
  
"What?" Leon asked her. In response, Ayane simply pointed up. When Leon looked up, he was briefly blinded by something. Leon staggered back and wiped his face to see what it was that blinded him. "Blood? But where...?" Leon regained his sight just in time to see Zack-what remained of him-fall from the tree. The "strongest man in the world" couldn't believe what he saw; Zack's head and spine had been ripped from his body. All Leon could do is look at Ayane is awe-could she have done this and if so, why?  
  
"Hey buddy, don't look at me," Ayane said noticing Leon's look toward her. "That's not my style. I'd tell you who did, but I think he'd rather tell you personally. All you have to do is turn around."  
  
Leon turned around and saw something out of someone's worst nightmares. The hunter stood, fully visible, in front of him. Its hands were covered in blood and Zack's head was hanging on its belt. The predator got into a fighting stance and began to taunt Leon, like what he did to Bayman. Leon still had no idea what was going on, but since this guy wanted a fight, a fight was what he was going to get. Leon started the fight with a flurry of punches to the abdomen and although some of them hit, they did little to hurt the hunter. The predator responded by grabbing Leon by the shirt and hitting him with a straight punch, a hook, and a backhand to the face followed by an uppercut. Leon fell to the ground clutching his jaw knowing the last blow had broken it. Somehow, the strongest man in the world managed to get up while still holding his jaw.  
  
Ayane knew this was the end and the hunter had another skull to add to his collection. With that, she began to think of which two would be next. In the meantime, she continued to watch as the hunter unleashed its spear and jammed it into Leon's abdomen killing him instantly. Leon's body fell to the ground in a heap waiting for the predator to take its reward. It didn't have to wait long; the hunter put away the spear and unsheathed the wrist knives. Slowly, it began to cut from the back of Leon's neck down to near the kidney area. With each cut, the blood sprayed over the hunter's arm and even some splattering on its chest. When it was done, the predator grabbed Leon's head and ripped it and his spinal cord from his body spraying blood in every direction it could spray.   
  
As the hunter held its new trophy high in the air, Ayane smiled with content. At last, her payback was underway-three of the DOA fighters were dead and it was only a matter of time before the others would follow in their footsteps.  
  
  
As Steve, now in the uniform provided at the base, looked down towards the forest, his mind began to wander. What really was going on here?   
  
"Steve! Yo, Agent Randall, earth calling!" Steve snapped back to reality and faced Sarah, his friend and one-time fellow Special Forces agent. "We're almost there. You ready for some old fashioned rescuing, just like we used to do?"  
  
Steve's replied with a monotonous "Yeah" before drifting back to his own world. As he stared at the rifle in his hand and the backpack by his feet, he realized what it was he walked away from when he quit the Special Forces particularly what happened three years ago. This trip down memory lane would not last long before Sarah spoke up.  
  
"Hey Steve, you might want to hear this. I just got word that another chopper was in the area a while ago. It was carrying several people and dropped them off not too far from where we'll be landing. This might be something worth looking into."  
  
"Any idea who the people were?"  
  
It seems that the people were the participants of the Dead or Alive tournament. But what would they doing here?"  
  
"The what?"  
  
"Oh yeah, I forgot you don't know about the DOA tournament. Let me give you a crash course. About two years ago, Fame Douglas formed a secret tournament in which he invited a handful of participants."  
  
"Fame Douglas? I've heard of him. Wasn't he one of DOATEC's boys?"  
  
"Supposedly. Anyway, the participants were invited back last year for the second DOA tournament..."  
  
"How? I thought Douglas died last year. What, did his daughter organize this one?"  
  
"You know about Helena? I'm surprised. Anyway, she didn't organize it, but she competed in it. Getting back to the point, Bayman and I were ordered to enter the tournament to find whoever was responsible for the 'Disaster at the End of the Century'. Bayman was able to make it, but I wasn't."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"I was injured by some girl in blue. All I remember about her is that she wore yellow ribbons in her hair and she had a sword. Anyhow, because of her, I failed in my mission and as a result, I was reprimanded for it."  
  
As Sarah finished her story, the pilot confirmed to the two that they were near the drop-off site. Steve and Sarah readied their weapons, put on their backpacks, dropped the ropes and slid to the ground. They then watched as the helicopter flew away.  
  
"Okay, so where we going?" Steve asked.  
  
"Bayman's camp is about a mile or two to the west. C'mon, let's move. Oh man, it's hot out." As the two soldiers walked toward Bayman's camp, two things were discussed-the intense heat and the DOA tournament which continued on until they got within a few yards of the site when Steve saw something out of the corner of his eye. Aiming his gun toward whatever fell to the ground, Steve slowly and cautiously approached the object that turned out be a set of dog tags. He picked it up and read the description:  
  
"Putcheski, Nicolai"  
  
Steve looked up and saw something that made him tremble. "Steve, what is it, is it.... oh dear god in heaven." Sarah also looked up and saw what Bayman tied up by the legs and hanging from a branch with his head removed. Both soldiers turned away from the sight to keep their lunches down.  
  
When they were sure they wouldn't lose their lunches, Steve asked Sarah, "So, what do we do now? We found him. Should we go look for his men?"  
  
" Something tells me that they all suffered the same fate so we shouldn't really waste time trying. Anyway, his camp is only a few yards from here. Let's go there and see if there's anything salvageable."   
  
"What about Bayman?"  
  
"We'll come back for him." The two continued on until they reached what was left of Bayman's camp. To the twosome's surprise, the camp had not been ransacked. Most, if not all, the equipment was still intact and operational. As the two sifted through the site, grabbing whatever guns and ammo they could find in addition to a radio, they heard something in the distance-footsteps and some people talking. Sarah motioned for Steve to come up to her position. As he did, the voices became louder and clearer. Within a few moments, people began to appear in the distance. They were in black suits that resembled radiation suits and were wearing gas masks. As far as Steve could guess, there were at least five of them to be seen and possibly more somewhere else.  
  
"What the hell," Steve questioned. "What the hell are DOATEC's boys doing here? Sarah, quick behind the trees." The two ducked behind trees just before the DOATEC soldiers could notice them. Just as the DOATEC solders were within Steve and Sarah's firing range, they began to talk.  
  
"Sir, we're nearing the site.... Yes, sir...what? How many of them? Yes, sir, we'll get on it." The soldier shouted to other men, "There are two Special Forces agents in this area. Spread out and search for them."  
  
Steve motioned for Sarah to come out of hiding. As they moved into sight, Steve said to the men, "No need to search boys, we're right here."  
  
The DOATEC soldiers cocked their weapons at the two agents. "Give yourselves up," one of them shouted, "and we'll spare your lives."  
  
Steve looked at Sarah and smiled. "Hey Sarah, have you seen 'The Matrix'?"  
  
"Yeah, I have."  
  
"Do you remember the lobby scene?"  
  
"Yeah. Do you think...?"  
  
"Let's do it." Steve and Sarah split up with the men firing at each one. Between trees, the Special Forces agents fired their weapons with each of them killing one man. One man was reloading his gun when Sarah ran up and delivered two mantis style punches and a kick to the chest before shooting him for good measure. Seeing Steve was trapped behind a tree with the remaining two men firing at him, Sarah aimed and fired killing one of the men. The other man stopped and faced the young lady aiming his weapon. This was enough time for Steve to run up and kick the man in the back of the head. Steve was also fats enough to catch the falling man and snapped his neck before allowing him to fall to the ground. After the victory, the Special Forces agents gave each other high fives. Suddenly, there were more footsteps. The agents faced the source to find out there were more DOATEC soldiers, about twenty or thirty of them-far more than the two of them could handle.  
  
"Oh s**t. Any ideas, Sarah."  
  
"I'm working on it." She wouldn't have to work too long as six soldiers fell to the ground within a minute or two. The surviving soldiers looked in the direction of their fallen allies. "What the hell was that?" "They were sliced open." "Who did this?" "Show yourself!" Those were among the things said that could be heard by the agents. Just then, Steve and Sarah heard a female voice:  
  
"You two help me kill these people. I can't do it alone"   
  
"Who was that?" Steve asked.  
  
"I really don't care right now. Right now, I just wanna do what the lady said." Sarah then opened fire on confused soldiers killing some of them with Steve joining in a few seconds later adding to the body count. Within what seemed like only a few minutes, all of the DOATEC soldiers were dead although some of them were able to get in a few rounds before dying.  
  
Steve walked towards the bodies while Sarah stayed back and looked around. "Whoever you are, show yourself," she shouted. She would get her request when a young girl dressed in blue dropped down from a tree in front of her. Sarah saw one of the ribbons in her hair and immediately recognized her. "You..." She quickly got into her fighting stance.  
  
However, the girl did not even flinch. She simply started to speak. "I remember you."  
  
"And I remember you, you little b***h. You cost me a shot at the tournament and now I want to get back at you for that."  
  
It seemed as if the girl and Sarah would duke it out, but Steve would interrupt them. "Hey I hate to break it to you, but we don't have time for this. It turned out these guys were on recon. It looks like they were hunting something but I'm not sure what they were...hey, I've seen you before." Steve was pointing to the girl in blue. "You're...Kasumi, right? I've read some info about you. You were the one that got cloned, weren't you?"  
  
"Yes, I was, but there's no time for that either. I know what these guys were after and what killed your friend."  
  
"You do? What?"  
  
"I also know about the DOA fighters. Follow me and I'll lead you to them."  
  
Steve and Sarah shrugged their shoulders-this was as good a lead as anything else. They followed Kasumi to the camp where the DOA fighters were staying. When the soldiers arrived, they were met with strange glances.  
  
"Hey there," Tina asked them, "who are you two what are you doing here?"  
  
"I could ask the same of you," Steve replied back.  
  
"I'm Tina Armstrong. I'm competing in the third Dead or Alive tournament. Over there is my father Bass." Bass gave the two a small salute. "Those two are Jann-Lee and Lei-Fang. They fight a lot, but personally, I think they like each other." The soldiers looked at Jann and Lei who looked like they were in some kind of argument. Tina continued on, "And they over there are new entries, Brad Wong and Hitomi. We also have Leon and-yecch-Zack here as well as Helena, Gen-Fu, and Christie, who's a newbie."  
  
"I'm Steve Randall and this is Sarah Hackett. We're here because something is out there killing people and we think you're all in danger. Now, where are these other people?"  
  
"Zack and Leon left a while ago. Helena and Gen-Fu just left. Strange, that Christie chick just disappeared when Helena and the old man left, but no one saw her leave. Now what exactly do you mean by something out there killing people?"  
  
Sarah would answer this one. "Someone is taking people's heads off and leaving the bodies hanging on trees. We aren't sure, but we think whatever's out there may be coming after you, if it hasn't already. We need to know where these others are before it's too late."  
  
This was answered not by Tina, but by a male voice. "We have found Zack and Leon."  
  
Everyone looked up and saw Hayabusa and Hayate in a tree. They noticed the soldiers. "How did you two get here?" Hayabusa asked.  
  
"Well," Steve retorted, "it was that Kasumi girl...wha?" Steve pointed to where Kasumi was but instead was pointing to open space.  
  
"It doesn't matter."  
  
"Hey," Bass shouted, "what did happen to Zack and Leon?"  
  
Hayate gave a grim look toward him. "I shall show you. It's something you have got to see yourself."  
  
"Alright," Steve shouted getting everyone's attention, "Sarah and I will check this out. The rest of you stay here."  
  
"Hey," Jann-Lee said, "I don't know about the others, but I sure as hell won't just lay down for you two. What makes you think we'll do that?"  
  
Steve simply smiled. "Okay, you win. Why don't you all go with the two in the trees and see for yourselves?"  
  
"You seem pretty confident about what's out there," Brad added.  
  
"I have in idea of what's out there and I think I can stop it. Now, where did this Helena and Gen-Fu go?"  
  
"They went that way," Hitomi said pointing in a direction.  
  
"And where are these Zack and Leon characters?"   
  
"They went that way," Tina said pointing in a separate direction.  
  
"Very well, I'll go find the girl and the old guy. Sarah, go with the two in trees and see what happened the other two. If you can, see if some of them will go with you."  
  
"Right." Sarah faced the DOA fighters. "I know I can't convince you all to come with me, but is there anyone who would like to go and see what my partner and I are talking about?"  
  
Lei-Fang walked up to Sarah. "I'll go."  
  
Bass approached Steve and put him in a light headlock. "I think I'll go with this guy. You don't have any problems with that, do you?"  
  
Steve let out a weak chuckle. "Sure, no prob."  
  
"What the hell," Brad got up off the ground and walked toward Sarah. "I'm curious to know about this stuff."  
For some reason, it was all the other needed to be convinced to go. Tina would follow Steve and Bass while Hitomi and Jann-Lee went with Sarah and the ninjas. With that said and done, the groups split off promising to meet back at the campsite when they were done.  
  
"I see you've gotten better, old man."  
  
Helena was able to dodge the old master's techniques, in some cases by the skin of her teeth. She knew that Gen-Fu didn't stop practicing his moves after the last tournament. The singer unleashed a flurry of her own techniques of which only a few connected. However, that only fazed the old master for only a short time. "What drives you in this tournament? I thought your granddaughter was better."  
  
"Yes, but I need more money to fully cure her. That's why..." A gunshot was heard and it was close, but all Helena could do is watch as blood ran from a hole between Gen-Fu's eyes. Moments later, the old man's body fell to the ground in a heap. Helena turned around and saw Christie holding a smoking gun. "You...why did you kill him? Don't you realize that now his granddaughter will also die?"  
  
"I don't give a s**t about that old guy," Christie replied in a dark tone. "All I care about is getting rid of you and I'll take out anyone that gets in my way."  
  
"Who are you and what do you want with me?"  
  
"I was sent here to get rid of you, the last of the Douglas line. You really should thank me, after all, you'll be able to see your dad again and...huh?"  
  
Helena noticed Christie was looking at whatever was shining those three red circles on Christie's forehead. Moments later, a blast of light hit Christie in the head and after a brief blood spewing from the wound, Christie slumped to the ground. Helena, worried about what could do such a thing, looked around and saw something in the trees...and a face she knew all too well.  
  
"Ayane. I should have known it was you."  
  
Hey, hey," Ayane answered back, "don't blame me, I didn't do it. My friend did that. Care to see another example?"  
Helena looked at the shape next to Ayane, which was focusing the same three circles on her forehead. As the figure was about to fire, Helena could hear machine gun fire and saw parts of the tree flying off causing Ayane and the hunter to run off. The opera singer noticed three figures, two of which she knew and the other, the man with the machine gun, which she didn't.  
  
"Bass, Tina, am I glad to see you two. Who's that guy?"  
  
"That's Steve," Tina answered. "He and his partner are here because something's killing people and now I'm starting to believe them."  
  
"Partner?"  
  
"Yeah, some girl with a big-time Southern accent. Anyway, we gotta get out of here. Hey Stevie, where to now?" Steve didn't answer-he was too busy searching Christie's carcass for some sort of clue or anything else for that matter. All the search resulted in, however, was an ID card similar to the one he saw in Seattle.  
  
"Christie," he thought. "A DOATEC assassin." Steve turned to his group. "This girl was sent by DOATEC and for some reason. Obviously, someone thought otherwise."   
  
"She was after me," Helena added. "My dad and DOATEC didn't exactly depart on good terms."  
  
"It doesn't matter anymore," Steve said. "There are more important matters to deal with. We need to get out of here before that thing returns. Helena, do you know that girl who was with that bastard?"  
  
"Her name's Ayane. She killed my mother. I've also heard that she upset a lot of other people as well."  
  
Steve pondered at this new development and decided to get in touch with his partner to see what was going on over on her end. He inserted an earpiece with an attached microphone that went to his mouth. "Sarah, this is Steve, do you read me? We found Helena, but the old guy's dead and also..."  
  
  
"Yeah, I read ya Steve, go ahead...what's that? We found Zack and Leon...what's left of them anyway...who? Yeah, I'll ask them.... okay, be on your toes." Sarah looked again toward the branch where Leon and Zack's bodies were hanging both with their heads missing. She faced the others and saw their reactions to the scene. Lei-Fang was bent over with Jann-Lee next to her trying to comfort her, Brad and Hitomi could only stare at the bodies, Hayabusa and Hayate were pondering.  
  
"Hey you two," Sarah shouted to the ninjas, "my partner just told me he saw a girl with the bastard killing people. Said her name was Ayane. Does that ring a bell to either of you?"  
  
The ninjas' eyes widened at the name. "Yes, we do know that name," Hayate answered the soldier. "Ayane turned against our tribe and tried to kill Kasumi-my sister. She was cast out of the tribe never to return. In the last tournament, she tried again to kill Kasumi only to fail. I heard that she was angry with everyone who competed in that tournament. I guess now that's true since she has allied with the devil."  
  
"Excuse me, what is the 'devil' stuff you're talking about?" Sarah asked. She then spoke into her mike. "Steve, you still there? You should listen to this."  
  
Hayabusa answered this question. "Hayate is referring to 'The Devil from the Heavens'. Whenever a hot season arrives in this area, like it is now, one of these devils comes down from the sky on a shooting star. Although it remains in this world for a short time, the devil kills people taking their heads as trophies. These things are so powerful in fact that it is believed even the Tengu are afraid of them. Somehow, Ayane was able to avoid being killed by this devil and was also able to ally with it."  
  
"That story sounds familiar," Sarah added. "In fact, Steve and I fought one these 'devils' before."  
  
"You did?" Hitomi asked.   
  
"Yes. Three years ago, Steve and I were in Central America. At that time, we were part of a Special Forces search and rescue team. We heard that there was some kind of explosion down there and went to investigate. When we got there, we ran into intense heat, like it is here. We also ran into bodies everywhere, cut up and hanging from rafters. Thinking we were too late to do anything, we tried to escape only to be killed one at a time ourselves until we were the only ones left. Neither of us knows why, but this thing decided to show itself to us. This thing was huge, seven maybe pushing eight feet of solid muscle. It had some sort of gun in its shoulder and was armed to the teeth. Suddenly, it took off the gun and dropped its weapons. We figured it wanted to fight us so we just started using our hands and feet against it."  
  
"You obviously succeeded," Lei-Fang said, "for you two are here."  
  
Sarah let out a sigh. "Actually, we lost. This thing was too much for us. It was strange, we were both waiting to die and for some reason, it decided to let us live. Instead of ripping our heads off, it just picked up its weapons and disappeared. After that, Steve quit the Special Forces and joined the FBI. Now, it seems fate has brought us together again. You see, that 'devil' killed Bayman, a friend of ours. Because we know how these guys work, we might be able to find a way to stop it. After all, you are the Dead or Alive fighters, the best of the best, am I right?"  
  
Jann, Lei, Brad, and Hitomi looked around. They weren't quite sure what to do or think. Ultimately, they figured what the hell-those two know more about this thing than the ninjas did. This made Sarah pleased. "Thank you everyone. Now let's back to the camp and figure something out. Are you two going to join us?"  
  
"Sure," Hayate answered. "You two aren't the only ones who lost friends to this thing."  
  
"Great, let's head back."  
  
  
"Is that all true, Steve?"  
  
As Steve looked around at Tina, Bass, and Helena a feeling of dread came over him. He had told the three the same story Sarah had told the others and he knew this would happen. He wished he could say he was lying, but he knew he couldn't. He knew he had to do something or else. "Look, back then, we didn't know these things existed. Now we do and we can stop this. You have to trust us or else you will all end up like Christie. How about it? You still with me?"  
  
After a few seconds, Helena grabbed Steve's hand and shook it. "I'm with you. I believe in you and I think we can stop this thing."  
  
Bass added with a smile, "Well, if you think so ma'am, then so do I."  
  
Tina shook her head in agreement and asked what they should do next. Steve suggested they should head back to the camp and decide a plan of action. During the trek, Steve noticed a familiar face in the trees. "You can come down Kasumi. We won't hurt you." Kasumi dropped down and ran toward the small group. "How did you know I was there?"  
  
"It was my sixth sense." The others looked at him with strange looks. "Heh heh, it was just a joke, everyone. Let's head back, OK?" A short while later, another rustling noise was heard. The group stopped and looked around to find the source. "Uh, Kasumi," Steve asked, "do you have any friends with you?"  
  
Kasumi shook her head. "No, I think it's back." The group continued to look around when the rustling noise was heard again. This time, it sounded closer than before. Steve noticed something gleaming in the distance and it appeared to be aiming right for them. "Spread out!" The group went off in different directions just in time to avoid being hit by the disk. Unfortunately, Steve was hit in the arm by hit and was holding his arm in pain.  
  
"Steve, you're hit." Helena rushed over to check Steve's wound. His right arm was sliced open between his elbow and shoulder. In desperation, the opera singer tore off a part of her costume and wrapped it around the soldier's arm. "There. That should do for now."  
  
"Thanks, Helena." The foursome banded together again and was about to press forward when Bass stopped dead in his tracks. "Daddy, what is it?" Tina asked him but the mountain of a man just looked into the forest.  
  
"It's here," Bass answered. "It's in the trees. You guys get out of here and...what's that?" Bass noticed a net coming toward him quickly catching him before he or anyone else could react. The net pinned Bass against a tree and began to sink into his skin. As he screamed in pain, Tina rushed to try to save him only to have Kasumi stand in her way.  
  
"It's too late, your dad's dead."  
  
"Get out of my way," Tina cried. "I gotta save him."  
  
"I said it's too late, there's nothing we can do for him. We have got to get out of here before we're all dead. You'll get a chance to avenge him...humph!" Tina pushed Kasumi aside and ran to her father's side. In a frantic attempt to save him, she tried to rip the netting off cutting her hands in the process.  
  
Steve and Helena helped Kasumi up and could only watch as Tina tired to help her dad who was now dead. They all knew they had to do something. They all shouted for Tina to come with them and to get away to no avail. The wrestler/model just kept trying to free Bass until she couldn't move her hands. Tina fell to the ground and began to cry while staring at her bloody hands. She looked at the others who could only look on in disbelief.   
  
"I'm sorry you guys. Now let's get...." Tina's head separated from the rest of her body. Steve tried to fire his gun only to click hear rapid clicking noises. "S**T! I'm out of ammo! Let's get out of here." He threw down his weapon and with Kasumi and Helena, ran back to the camp.  
  
  
Sarah and her group had arrived already and were waiting for Steve and his crew. While they were waiting, Sarah got on the radio and tried to contact her base. "This is Hackett requesting immediate pickup...I couldn't hear you, say again...........Roger, coastline, 0300 hours." She slammed the speaker down in frustration.   
  
"Hey," Hitomi shouted, "it's the others...but it looks like they're missing some people."  
  
The group faced Steve, Kasumi, and Helena who had just ran back to the camp. Steve and Helena felt like collapsing, but maintained their composure.   
  
"What happened? Where are the Armstrongs?" Sarah asked.  
  
Helena replied, "They're both dead. Bass got netted like a fish and Tina got her head cut off."   
  
"Sarah," Steve asked, "have you gotten on the radio?"  
  
"Yes. They said they can't pick us up because we're too far in. We have to go south to the coastline. That's where they'll get us."  
  
"When will they get here?"  
  
"Two or three hours."   
  
Steve sighed in disbelief. He, and probably everyone at the camp, knew they had to do something now. "Alright, listen up everyone. We need to make our stand here. We got a helicopter arriving at the shore to our south in about two or three hours. However, if we don't do something about this thing, there won't be anyone left for the chopper to pick up." Although everyone was in agreement, none of them knew exactly how to make their stand.  
  
  
Ayane looked on as the hunter freed Bass from the net and started to work on removing his head. "A little sloppy, but you did bag two more for yourself." The predator didn't care though. It was too occupied with getting its latest trophies. The dark ninja noticed this and went off to find where Tina's head had landed. Ayane found the head face down in a mound of dirt. Not exactly wanting to go through with this, but knowing she had to, Ayane picked up the head and went back to the hunter who had just finished removing Bass' head. "Here pal," she said tossing it to the hunter who caught it without even looking. After hooking both heads on its belt, the hunter looked in the direction where the others had run off to, pressed a few buttons on its wrist causing it to vanish, and went off to finish the job it started.  
  
Now, the chase was on. It would be a matter of time before the rest of the prey would be hunted down. But what about the human "Ayane"? What to do about that one.... should she be let go or be hunted down herself? The answer would have to wait-there is other prey to be had.  
  
  
There was no agreement as to how to fight this creature and by this point, voices had escalated and the atmosphere was worsening by the second. Anytime a plan was mentioned, someone would always shoot it down. This kept going on until Sarah and Steve decided enough was enough and fired shots into the air causing everyone to stop bickering and pay attention to them.   
  
"Listen up!" Steve shouted with a noticeable tone of anger in his voice. "This is not getting us anywhere. We have got to come up with a plan and we have to do it now! This is no time to be..." Just then, Steve noticed a flash of light coming at them but instead of being near ground level, it hit a large branch dislodging it from the tree it was hanging on causing it to fall.  
  
"Look out!" Lei-Fang heard the warning and looked up just in time to see the branch fall on her and pin her to the ground. Immediately, Jann-Lee ran over to and tried to lift the branch off her but it just wouldn't budge even when Steve helped him. Hayabusa went over and pulled out his sword.   
  
"Are you crazy?" Steve shouted. "Don't..." The super-ninja took two swings and sheathed the sword. Steve and Jann watched the branch as it split in three pieces that the guys were able to lift off Lei-Fang. While the guys were throwing the branch pieces aside, Sarah walked up and checked on the young Chinese woman. "She's busted up pretty bad...broken ribs most likely not to mention any possible internal injuries. She needs medical attention fast."  
  
"Alright," Steve muttered, "help her up and get her out of here." Sarah nodded and with Jann-Lee, lifted Lei-Fang, moaning in sheer agony to near tears, to her feet and slowly walked toward the coastline to the south with Brad, Hitomi, Kasumi, and Helena close behind.   
  
Hayate stared in the direction of the blast. "It's here," he said to himself. He faced Hayabusa, his long-time friend and ally. "Ryu, you and the others get out of here. I'll stay here and try to stop it."  
  
Hayabusa knew what his friend was trying to do and there was no use trying to persuade him otherwise. "Hayate," he said, "you cannot win this."  
  
"No, but at least I can get even. Now get them out of here." Hayabusa had a feeling those would be the last words he would ever hear from his friend. He went to get the others to find that only Steve remained. "What the hell's going on? What is he doing?" It was obvious that the agent wasn't going to go anywhere, so the ninja had to resort to dirty tricks. He foot swept the agent off his feet and dragged him a few feet when the agent finally got the message and walked off on his own power.  
  
  
What was this human thinking? The hunter looked on at the human who seemed to be looking back. It was clear this one wanted a fight and by the laws of the hunter, it was going to get a fight. The human put one hand to whatever was on his back and stood ready to fight. The predator dropped down and walked up to the human allowing itself to be seen and readying the spear. The two faced off at one another and with Hayate charging at it, the fight was on. The two traded swings at one another resulting on misses and blocks with the other's weapon.   
  
After enough searching, Ayane arrived at the site and saw the fight in progress. When she saw whom the hunter was fighting, she began to tremble. "Hayate..."  
  
The fighting continued with each fighter getting in only one successful slash, Hayate to the hunter's wrist shorting out the wrist guard, and the hunter to Hayate's chest ripping his shirt open and leaving a slash wound across his chest. In a surprise move, the hunter swung its spear low to sweep Hayate off his feet. As the predator was about to make the finishing blow, Ayane shouted, "Stop! Don't kill him, please."   
  
This human's usefulness was at an end. She would be dealt with later. For now, this human in front has top priority. The hunter was about to end this fight when Hayate jammed his sword into the hunter's chest causing green blood to flow from the wound. Hayate got up and while the hunter removed the sword and was reeling from the attack, Hayate and Ayane's eyes met.   
  
"Ayane, why?"  
  
"Hayate...please.... forgive me...I just wanted..." While the two were busy trying to get some sort of explanation, the hunter recovered-quicker than expected-and thrust the spear into Hayate's back and was even able to have the spear tip exit out Hayate's chest. Ayane's eyed widened in disbelief as she could only watch the hunter, her once-ally, remove the spear and face her.  
  
"NO!" Ayane shouted. "I didn't want you to kill him. How dare you!" The dark ninja, in a fit a rage, charged the hunter and was so controlled by her rage that she didn't notice the circles on her forehead. She was within a few feet of her former ally when all went black.  
  
Then hunter simply looked at Ayane, whose head had been blasted in half, and stepped on what was left of her skull crushing it. The predator looked at the slashed wrist guard-it was damaged beyond repair so it couldn't cloak itself. Giving up on it, the hunter ran toward the fleeing prey that by now had a huge head start.  
  
What should have been a simple tournament has now become a fight for survival. As the rest of the group pressed on, they began to wonder if they'd make it out of here alive.   
  
"Hey," Brad said, "who here thinks that guy stopped it?"  
  
Everyone turned to face Brad as if he had a screw loose and who knows, in this heat maybe he had. Silence prevailed until Jann-Lee decided to reply. "You know what I think? I don't think he did." Something within Brad snapped. For some insane reason, he felt he had to try and there was no more use running away. Perhaps it was the heat that finally got to him. Whatever it was that drove him told him to run in the opposite direction.  
  
"Brad! BRAD!" Steve shouted to no avail. "Dammit, what the hell's he thinking?"  
  
"I'll go get him," Hitomi said just before she ran to get Brad. This did not please Steve at all. "No Hitomi, wait! F**k, not her too. What is wrong with everyone?" He then saw Kasumi face the direction of the fleeing duo. "Oh man, not you too!"  
  
The ninja faced the agent. "I'll go get them both. The rest of you get her to the shore or else she'll die."  
  
"Kasumi," Steve said in a calmer voice. "Don't go. Think about it, Bayman, Leon, Zack, Christie, Tina, Bass, and probably your friend as well...they're all dead. Do you really think you can win against this guy?"  
  
"I'm going and there's nothing you can do to stop me. And by the way, he wasn't my friend.... he was my brother." Kasumi leapt into the trees and disappeared with nobody, not even Hayabusa, trying to stop her.  
  
"So," Sarah asked, "what now?"  
  
"I don't know," Steve answered half-heartedly. "I just don't know."  
  
"I have an idea," Helena exclaimed. "Let's get Lei-Fang to the shore. We need to get her out of here. Once she's safe, we'll work on taking this thing out."  
  
"Very well," Hayabusa replied. "But what about Kasumi, Brad, and Hitomi?"  
  
Steve let out a sigh and answered, "They're on their own."  
  
Hitomi ran through the trees trying to find any sign of Brad. As she came up on a makeshift hideout, she was pulled inside. "Hey, what're you...mmmph?"A hand came up over her mouth forcing her to be quiet. All Hitomi could do is turn her eyes and discover it was Brad that was doing all of this.  
  
"Shh, be quiet," Brad whispered. "Do you see it? It's right there up in those trees." He pointed to an area and when Hitomi looked in that direction, sure enough, the hunter could be seen fully visible and it appeared to be looking elsewhere. Brad continued to whisper, "Hey pal, I see you and you can't see me."  
  
"Uhm, Brad," Hitomi whispered, "how you plan on beating it? We don't have any weapons of any sort."  
  
Brad stopped to think about that. She was right for they were indeed unarmed. "Uh well, I'll think about later. Right now, I..." Brad pushed Hitomi aside and noticed that the hunter was looking in their direction. "Did he find me?" he thought. Out of his left eye, Brad could see red lights shining from the thing in the trees. The lights moved toward him until they were focused on his forehead.   
  
"Brad?" Hitomi looked on as Brad continued to stare at the lights. A few seconds later, Hitomi was blinded briefly by something. She wiped her face and looked at her hands to see what it is. When she saw the blood on her hands, she faced Brad who staring at her with lifeless eyes and a gaping hole in his head. With fear now controlling her, Hitomi ran out of the hideout and froze in place. She heard the hunter's snarling and looked toward the huntsman who was preparing the disk weapon. The predator threw it at her and just as she turned to escape, the disk caught her in the leg slicing it off and causing her to fall to the ground. As Hitomi crawled forward desperately trying to escape, the creature grabbed her by the back of the neck pinning her. Seconds later, Hitomi was flipped over and was able to see the wrist knives come down to her heart.   
  
Kasumi ran through the woods as fast as she could. In her mind, she was hoping she wasn't too late and that Brad and Hitomi were still alive. However, something told her that they were dead and that the hunter-the "devil"-got to them first. As Kasumi continued along, she spotted something on the ground. Leaning closer, she knew exactly what it was. "Blood..." She followed the blood trail and saw, in addition, to more blood, some tattered clothes and a bottle further down. When the blood trail ended, she almost vomited again at what the trail ended at-a pile of organs. Holding her mouth, Kasumi looked up and saw a body sans head hanging from a branch-a sight all too common as of late. However, enough clothing was left for her to identify the body.  
  
"Brad..." Kasumi continued on too see where Hitomi could be. She figured to go to the trees so as not to be seen as easily. As she jumped from tree to tree, she didn't see anything out of the ordinary until some time later when saw something white from under a bush. Kasumi jumped down and walked slowly toward the object. Upon further inspection, she found it to be clothing. "No, it can't be..." She grabbed the clothing and pulled out a whole leg and a severed one. Kasumi didn't bother going further for she already knew the outcome. "Hitomi," she thought. "It got her too." Kasumi instinctively unsheathed her sword and looked around. Something wasn't right here and she knew it-there is something good to come out of those assassination attempts after all. She quickly faced toward the direction of a branch breaking. "Okay," she thought, "where are you?" She looked to her right and saw something fall from a tree. "There!" Kasumi used her quickness as a ninja to get to the object. It was not the predator, but something else. The ninja reeled at the sight of Ayane's body lying in heap. It looked like her head had been ripped from her body.   
  
While Kasumi was still in shock from seeing her half-sister's corpse, she felt something hit her in the right arm, her sword arm, causing her to fall over. When she tried to use her arms to help her up, she was in for a surprise for her right arm form her elbow down had been severed from her body. Kasumi stared at the remnants of her arm in shock. With her remaining arm, Kasumi got up and looked around trying to find the creature that did this.   
  
This human is strong. Even after losing an arm, she continues to fight. This one will make an excellent addition to the collection. The hunter unsheathed the wrist knives and closed in for the kill. Kasumi, in a desperate attempt, threw a weak punch at the predator, which didn't even phase it. The hunter sunk the knives into Kasumi's stomach and lifted her into the air. All she could do now was scream into the early evening air.  
  
Steve, Sarah, Jann-Lee, and injured Lei-Fang, Helena, and Hayabusa all heard a woman's scream in the distance and instantly knew who issued it. Now Kasumi can be added to the list of people that this hunter has claimed. The group of six looked at one another and without saying a word, agreed just to keep moving on and hope that they can make it to the shore and find a way to beat this thing. At some point during the seemingly long trek to freedom, Hayabusa turned around and stood his ground. Since he was in the back, the others noticed this only when Steve turned back and saw the ninja standing ready to fight.  
  
"Hey man," he shouted, "what're you doing? C'mon let's go."  
  
"I cannot leave here," Hayabusa replied coldly. "This is my home. I must stay here and defend it from anyone who seeks to do harm here. Now let me be."  
  
"What? Don't you realize what you're saying? You're gonna die, dammit!"  
  
  
Helena grabbed Steve's arm and rationalized this scenario. "Let him go. He's right-this is his home. If he leaves here, where do you think he can go, huh?" Steve looked at Hayabusa and regrettably agreed with Helena. She had a point-this place was this guy's home and neither he nor anyone else had the right to make him leave. Steve and the others began to walk away but before doing so, Steve said two simple words, "Good luck."  
  
The solitary ninja-now the last of his kind-stood with his sword drawn and at the ready. He would be damned if he was going to go without a fight. Something was in the trees and it appeared to be looking at Hayabusa. The ninja prepared for what could be his last stand.  
  
Meanwhile, the remaining members of the group walked on wondering what was going to happen now. A more immediate concern, however, was the condition of Lei-Fang. As night began to fall, at least one of them was wondering if they would live to see the next sunrise.  
  
"Lei-Fang," Sarah asked softly, "how are you holding up?"  
  
Lei-Fang could only reply in a soft, creaking voice. "I...I'm in a lot...of...pain...don't...know. if.... I'll.... make...it...."  
  
"You will," Jann-Lee replied. "I'll make sure you make it through, I swear to you I will."  
  
Helena and the soldiers were taken aback by Jann's statement. Helena knew those two had feelings for each other and hearing that made her sure that these two really did like each other. Unfortunately, this was not the time or place for such things. The only thing that matters right now is survival.  
  
The five of them faced back where they came from when they heard another scream from the distance, this time a man's scream could be heard. None of them said anything, they knew Hayabusa failed, but maybe just maybe he had given them enough time to at the very least lose the hunter.  
  
The small group continued down the trail wondering when this was going to end. Now that the sun had gone down, the forest seemed to become more threatening not to mention still unbelievably hot. "Steve," Sarah asked, "how long you think we've been walking?"  
  
"I dunno, hour, hour and a half, maybe two hours. All I know is the shore can't be much further now." The walk continued and was thankfully uneventful until a shot was heard with Lei-Fang falling to the ground seconds later. Jann-Lee knelt over Lei-Fang's body while the soldiers and Helena looked around to find the source of the blast. They didn't have to look long for the perpetrator wasted no time on showing himself. The hunter simply walked in front of the dazzled group. It was confident of chances of success. There were four of them left and they don't seem to be able to get organized.   
  
Steve began to grind his teeth in anger. He was back in the same situation he was in three years ago but this time, he wasn't going to lose. He dropped his backpack, took off his shirt and got into his fighting stance. "All right you big bastard, let's see what you got. No weapons, just hand-to-hand."   
  
"Steve!" Sarah shouted, "what are you doing?"  
  
"I'm going to fight it. I'm going to avenge what happened three years ago. I don't care what any of you do, I'm staying here and if I die here, so be it."  
  
Sarah could only smile at that comment. She knew bringing him here was the right thing. Perhaps now he can get those personal demons off his back. She got into her stance next to Steve. "Well, you're not doing it alone. I was there too, remember? I also have a score to settle with these bastards."  
  
Helena pondered at the situation in front of her. She saw the hunter facing two soldiers who were going to try to fight it hand-to-hand. The singer walked up next to Sarah and got into her stance. "Hey you two, I also have a score to settle. Besides, I want to see what Tae Kwon Do and Praying Mantis Kung Fu are really made of."  
  
Meanwhile, Jann-Lee was still kneeling over Lei-Fang's body with tears filling his eyes. The two of them had been rivals for so long and not once did he get the chance to say he loved her. There was no way he was going to leave her even if that meant he was going to die. Even as the other three were shouting for him to join them, he refused to go anywhere. He only wanted to be by Lei-Fang's side.  
  
This is looking good. And all this time it was thought these humans wouldn't be worth the hunt. This trip was going to be one to remember for this hunter. Now it was time to end this. The predator threw down the spear and disk and began to undo some cords to the shoulder cannon. After taking it off and dropping it on the ground, the hunter removed the cords on its helmet causing some steam or something to hiss out of each one. When all the cords were undone, the hunter removed the helmet revealing its true face. The face was-to the best human description-was a large forehead with appendages form the corners of its mouth.  
  
Steve winced a bit at seeing the hunter's true face. "You are..."  
  
With Helena and Sarah in unison, "one ugly motherf****r."  
  
The creature let out a roar and got into a fighting stance. It didn't have to wait long for Steve ran up to it first and unleashed a fury of punches and kicks that the hunter blocked and countered with a punch to the face and a kick to the stomach resulting in Steve falling over. As soon as he fell, Sarah charged in and let loose a volley of techniques of her own with some of them connecting causing the hunter to reel back. As Sarah went in for the final blow, the hunter delivered a powerful blow to Sarah's stomach causing her to cough blood and double over in pain. Now it was Helena's turn to give it a try. Shifting between stances, the singer was able to get in some good moves catching the hunter by surprise. In a lucky attempt, the predator grabbed Helena by the shirt and issued open-handed slaps to the face ending with a strong backhand to the right side of Helena's face.   
  
In one corner stood the predator and in the other were the humans known as Steve, Sarah, and Helena all of whom were beaten but not out of it. As the three humans stood back up, they all realized they had to fight together or else they wouldn't stand a chance. They spilt up and surrounded the hunter. The predator looked on in what could be called amusement. Here they were trying to do a three on one situation thinking they could beat it. How stupid did these humans think they were? The humans were about to charge when they heard a high-pitched battle cry and saw Jann-Lee delivering a flying kick to the creature's chest causing it to reel back. What the...?  
  
"Alright!" Steve shouted happily. "Welcome aboard, Jann. Now let's take this bastard down." While the hunter was still reeling from the surprise attack, other attacks were delivered one at a time by a different person each time. Various moves such as Steve's sweep kick causing the hunter to fall on its knees, Sarah's mantis punch that blinded it in one eye, Helena's kick in which the heel of her boot left a puncture wound in its chest, and Jann-Lee's lightning fast open palm punches drawing green blood to flow from the top of its head all took the hunter by surprise. How could this be? How could these humans have learned to fight like this?   
  
In a final act, the hunter lunged at Jann-Lee grabbing him by the shirt and punching him several times in the face and chest finishing with him being thrown into the others. As they collided, the predator looked at the humans and when they got back up, it gave them a salute before turning around and slowly limping back into the forest leaving a trail of green blood behind. Sarah was about to follow it when Steve stopped her and shook his head. "There's no time, the chopper will be arriving soon and they won't wait long." Sarah agreed and with Jann-Lee and Helena in tow, they walked-limped in some cases-toward the shoreline where they saw that the chopper had just arrived waiting for them to board.  
  
"How many," the pilot asked.  
  
"Four," Steve answered. "Be careful, we just went through hell and back."  
  
"I noticed. What happened?"  
  
Steve smiled weakly at the pilot. "You don't want to know."  
  
When the other three boarded, the chopper took off and at long last, they could all say goodbye to this cursed place...as well as goodbye to everyone that lost their lives there. As their injuries were being treated, Steve turned to Sarah and asked, "So, about that information..."  
  
"I'll send it all to the FBI headquarters in DC in your name." Sarah leaned her head back in relief. "Oh thank God this is over at last." Steve gave one look toward Helena and Jann-Lee and began to wonder how they were going to explain to the American people that three of their biggest icons were dead. With that thought in mind, Steve drifted off.  
  
EPILOGUE  
  
CHINA  
Jann-Lee was standing with a bouquet of flowers in his hand in front of a gravestone that said "HERE LIES LEI-FANG". Even though it he knew it was an empty casket six feet below him, Jann placed the flowers besides the stone and whispered, "I love you, Lei-Fang. May the Lord shine upon you always." He looked at the headstone to the right that read "GEN-FU" and said, "Sorry old man, didn't have enough money for you. I hope you can forgive me." Jann bowed his head down for a moment of silence and walked away.  
  
U.S.A.  
Steve was in his one-room apartment reading the morning paper when he heard a knock on his door. "All right, I'm coming." He opened the door to see a familiar face. "Hello Sarah. Sorry, but I can't help you, I'm on vacation."  
  
"I know. I just wanted to let you I just quit the Special Forces and became a martial arts instructor in Georgia. I'm also here in DC to see if the info I gave you was any help."  
  
"Yeah it sure did. Please come in." Sarah walked in the door and was taking off her shoes when Steve came back with the paper. "Here check this out. Thanks to that info you gave me, not only the FBI, but also the CIA have subjected DOATEC to a full criminal investigation was well. They're well on their way to being shut down for good. Thanks for helping me. I owe you one."  
  
"No, that's not necessary." Sarah began to think about something. "I was wondering if you ever found a way to tell the public about the Armstrongs and Zack."  
  
Steve shook his head. "No, I didn't. I think it would just be better not to tell them."  
  
Sarah shook her head in agreement. "Yeah, I guess it would be better that way. Changing the subject, would you like to visit the monuments with me?"  
  
"Sure."   
  
FRANCE  
"Where is she? The show starts in ten minutes. This is the most popular opera in France and our star is nowhere to be found! Aaaarrrggghhhh."  
  
As the director ran frantically backstage, the actors and crew laughed under their breath. They all knew Helena was outside looking at the stars but none of them bothered to tell the director. Let him figure it out for himself.  
  
Outside the backstage door, Helena looked up at the stars and started to wonder about a lot of things-about what happened in Japan and about what has happened since then. The whole world has moved on and yet, it seems different. But, as Helena figured, that's what happens when you see people dying in front of you. Either that or you go stir crazy.   
  
"Oh, there you are, Helena. Do you have an idea how long it took me to find you? Now c'mon, the show's about to start."   
  
"Alright." As Helena was about to step inside, she saw a shooting star. The singer smiled upon seeing the star. It was the first comforting thing she encountered since she got back from Japan. She let out a small sigh and went inside.  
  
Jann-Lee in China, Steve Randall and Sarah Hackett in America, and Helena Douglas in France-they all had the same thing on their minds. Each one of them hoped they would never have to go through something like what happened in Japan again. Hopefully, the "devils" will stay away from Earth from now on and stay in hell where they belong.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
1  
Crimson Darkness: DOA versus Predator 


End file.
